Mike Wise rescued by college student

Saw this on the news earlier tonight: WaPo columnist Mike Wise was out jogging with his dog; dog runs into the C&O Canal and falls through the ice. Wise chases his dog and falls through the ice as well, up to his neck in cold water. He yells for help and is saved by a passerby, who happens to be a law student at George Washington.

Let me say I'm happy that both guys and dog are OK. I've become a big fan of Mike's and found him to be one hell of a guy.

http://media.www.gwhatchet.com/media/storage/paper332/news/2008/02/07/News/Icy-Intervention-3194470.shtml

 

Wow. Love reading Wise, what a circumstance to get into.

Hope he wasn't in there for too long, and great job by the student to pull him out.

 

I agree with you on all counts about Mike. He's become my favorite columnist at The Washington Post and I've enjoyed talking to him the times I've done so.

 

Very cool. Glad everybody's OK. Wise is a helluva writer.

 

this would be an awesome story even if mike was a crappy writer.

 

I like how last week it was cold enough for the canal to be iced over, but when that photo was taken the law student is wearing flip-flops.

 

That's a pretty cool story. Well, the saving part, not the falling in the water. And I'llecho the admiration for Wise as a writer.

 

Had the same damn thing happen to me once. Had been taking the dog for a walk by a canal ever since we got her. Winter came and I never thought a thing about it. We're down there, the canal is frozen for the first time, dusted with snow, and said dog, now at seventy pounds plus, goes racing across. Get about halfway - thirty feet - and boom, down through the ice.

What do you do? Dog is frantically trying to get out, but can't. We're a good half mile or so from the car or any people. So I hand my wife my wallet, take off my jacket and boots and start kicking through the ice and wading in. Get in to my waist and then the dog somehow scrambles out and runs off the canal to the opposite side. So now the idea is to get the dog not to try to run back across.

Fat chance. Dog runs along the bank about another fifty feet and tries to run back across. It's another "and down goes Frazier," moment. So I climb back in, start banging my forearms on the ice as hard as possible, breaking it as I go. Takes about a minute and a half, and I'm up to my neck, but I get to her and haul her out. Then I had the realization that, you know, that's as cold as water can possibly get. All told, I was only in for about two minutes. Jogged back to the car to stay warm, drove home, and except for some superficial cuts on my forearm, was fine.

A few months ago my neighbor took his dog, a young lab, to the nearby lake. Same thing, glazed over for the first time and the dog runs out on ice, breaks through about fifty feet from shore. Neighbor has his two year old with him, so he can't go in after the dog, and besides, its way over his head. He looks around for rocks to throw, hoping to break the ice from shore, looks back up, and the dog is gone. He figures he has drowned.

The next thing he knows is that he's looking at the ice near shore, and there's his dog. The damn thing swam about forty feet UNDER WATER, UNDER THE ICE, right to him. He kicks through the ice with his foot and pulls the dog out. Dog sputters the rest of the day but is fine.

The dogs' name? Gator.

 

I was going to post this even before I saw the last few responses. I've run a lot with dogs alongside both a canal and a creek, and the first time one of them went into the icy water, I had the same reaction as Mike Wise ... only to learn very quickly that most dogs willing to plunge into an icy canal or creek are very capable of getting themselves out. Hell, Labs LOVE breaking through ice and swimming in freezing water and running around with ice in their fur. It's kind of what they do, along with wishing you would shoot a damned duck or goose for them to fetch (not happening for my dog, anyway).
Unless you're running with, say, a toy poodle or something, wait and make sure the dog is actually in trouble before you put yourself in danger.

Also, I think you can buy a little doggie wet suit and snorkel in that Sky Mall magazine ...

 

Don't know about the snorkel, but you can get neoprene vests for dogs at most hunting/outdoors shops. They're used by most duck hunters, since they keep the dog warm. They also help provide floatation.